Spiritual Cleansing.

Recycled jars used to hold cleansing salt and herbs.

AS we entered the dark half of the year and the nights grew darker, the days grew colder and the light waned into shades of Winter, one of the best things to do regularly is to clean the home and family.

The easiest way to do this is to wash and clear out your home, while addressing any persistent physical problems each person has. Anything from bad habits to unfinished or unstarted projects. The cold months in the Northern Hemisphere bring death with them so it pays to remove dust and rubbish from the home, fixing anything broken and buying or making things that will help make life easier. Removing bacteria helps us to stay healthy, changing bad habits may save a life.

Spiritual cleansing is good for the mind and can lead to cleaning the home which is good for the body. The idea is, if we clean our spirit, we are going to heal our body as well. If we keep a clean body, we will have a cleaner spirit. 'Clean' is not always about dirt, it can be about personal values and appropriate behaviour.

Some people will spiritually cleanse every week, or once per month. Women sometimes do this around the Moontime/monthly period. Other people will do this before an important appointment, or after a traumatic event. I try to clean my home at least once per year, probably only about three times per year when really I should be doing something at least weekly because of the kind of energies I have come into contact with over my life.

I have raised my children to have no specific religion, but we celebrate Pagan festivals and I sometimes explain my practices to them. Most of these rituals are carried out when my kids are not at home so it has never been an intense theme. As they've grown up I've practiced these things around them more.

Basic forms of Spiritual Cleansing.
Salt.
Be careful when using salt; keep it away from nature, from your lawn, houseplants, cats, babies etc. People with high blood pressure are advised to avoid salted baths.
One of the oldest of sacred items, said to be used in place of coin in ancient Rome.
soldiers paid with salt
the word 'salary' may derive from salt being given instead of a wage
A vital part of our diets, salt has been used for centuries to preserve food, it will serve as a poison in large doses. It dissolves in water so is used in cleansing baths, added to blessed water and generally sprinked around the home, added to jars and medicine bags, mojo bags, spells and charms or poppets (dolls). It is thought to remove negativity, be that a general energy or a spirit entity.
When the lights flicker, most of us think it's the electricity.
A Witch will reach for the salt. *It has been popular for cleansing crystals but some crystals/gems can be damaged by being buried in salt or left in salted water. It can be better to bury the gemstone in a pot of clean compost instead to 'recharge'. I've seen crystals become more colourful and vibrant after this compost treatment. Salted foods will not 'turn bad' so there must be something good about this preservative, with correct application.

Singing Bowl.
ASMR Tibetan Singing Bowl YouTube video
An extrememly popular Asian technique is to 'clear the air' with firecrackers and loud music or a singing bowl. When the user can make the bowl 'sing' it will sound different where there are blockages around the home or body and the sound from the metal bowl is said to heal these blockages, or shatter the negative energy and create harmony. This is an easier method than the rest, as it requires no cleaning up afterwards, no salt to wash away or water to dry. Music could be used instead of a singing bowl, or clapping hands, banging cymbals etc.

Sage/burning herbs. 
Native American people discovered a variety of herbs which can be burned to disinfect the air or a space both physically and spiritually or energetically. Called 'smudging', this practice has spread across the globe so most of us are familier with white sage, desert sage and sweetgrass. There are traditions among world cultures for burning particular woods and herbs and using fire to cleanse or destroy. In Celtic Britain the cattle were chased through a Spring fire to cleanse the animals and to burn off parasites and illness/bacteria. In the UK we like white sage but also have a range of other herbs such as rosemary that we can burn in the same way. I often call this 'smoking' or 'to smoke a room' rather than calling it 'smudging'. I do not smoke herbs or tobacco as cigarettes.

Blessed Water. 
Dr Masaru Emoto dsicovered that 'talking' to water will affect the quality of water crystals formed when it is frozen. The best way to learn more about this is via one of his books.
Amazon book Messages in Water
Water can be used alone or have other things added to it. Active Pagans try to use natural items when cleaning where possible. This makes sense if we are cleaning something which is organic, for example crystals and gemstones are very popular and will react badly to some cleaning agents or salt- if your crystal will be damaged, why would you use the same cleaning product on your body?

The above methods are based on four elements of Earth (salt), Air (sound), Fire (smoke) and Water.

Elements.
The examples I have given above are from different parts of the world. Within the UK we would often bury something in the Earth or in compost, wrap it in a cloth, wrap it in leaves or animal skin, use fire, hold it in a stream (or under a running tap), use vinegar instead of or added to water, use alcohol, use different temperatures of water and ice or steam or anoint in an oil or fat. The cleaning method used would need to suit the situation. We use what we have access to.

EG.
*During a time of sickness, plenty of clean water would need to be consumed and used to wash things, boiling water can be used to clean taps or clothing. We may avoid smoke and fire during this time. Herbs can be used as part of a detox.

*If the weather if fine and there is no illness or allergy, we could use smoke to cleanse a room, opening the windows afterwards to let in clean air and let out the 'poison air' containing the negativity.

When carrying out any cleansing, make sure to prepare something positive to bring into the space directly afterwards. 

EG.
*When cleansing a space with smoke, always open windows to remove this smoke - then burn some nice incense or use an air freshener afterwards, essential oils or sprays are good for this.

*Make sure to remove the dirt or broken items resulting from any cleansing, throw out ash from a fire. Remember it will change the composition of the soil if added to the garden, potentially causing damage.
RHS advice for using wood ash. It is illegal to burn anything that would release chemicals such as plastic or wood which has a coating such as old glossed floorboards/treated wood.

Finally, sound is an easy way to bring positive energy into a space, from a water fountain to a quiet playlist